Nigerian forces attack Boko Haram base in Kano

Kano
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Nigerian forces stormed a hideout of Boko Haram insurgents in Kano on Tuesday and killed a man suspected of masterminding the attack on Christian worshipers at the Bayero University on Sunday.

Digital Journal reports that Boko Haram insurgents invaded the campus of Bayero University Kano and attacked Christian worshipers with homemade explosives and guns on Sunday, killing about 20 people.

According to VOA, security forces carried out the raid in the Bubugaje slum area of Kano early on Tuesday, waking up residents of the area to the sound of gunfire and explosions.

Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi, a spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JFT) in Kano, said, "The main suspect [in the Bayero University attacks] was killed."

Reuters reports Nigerian forces took journalists to the scene of the attack. The house had been destroyed in the fighting, and AFP reports three women, including a 3-year-old girl, were detained.

According to AFP, a bank deposit slip and a leaflet allegedly containing a message from the Boko Haram leader was found in the building. One of the detained women, an 18-year-old, told reporters, "I was married to my husband a year ago. We met in Wudil. I only came to know that he was a member of Boko Haram recently. He managed to escape during the raid this morning."

Kano army commander, Brigadier General Ilyasu Abba, said: "The most difficult task we face with these terrorists is they know us but we don't know them. They're not rooted in a particular place. We have rooted them out of here today, but tomorrow they could be somewhere else."

The army general said one suspect was arrested and two escaped. Reuters reports that one of the arrested was a university graduate, Mohammed Ali Ibrahim.

Police Commissioner for Kano State, Ibrahim Idris, told Radio Nigeria that AK-47 assault rifles, 467 munitions and 45 cans of explosives were recovered in the raid.

According to AFP, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) President Abdulwahed Omar blamed the Boko Haram insurgency on poverty and unemployment. He said: "Since the last May Day, the escalation of the Boko Haram threat has manifested in several bombings and attacks across the country, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives. That the terrorist ideologues are able to recruit willing and daring foot soldiers with ease lies deeply rooted in the decaying social conditions in our nation: joblessness, hunger, poverty, lack of electricity, illiteracy and lack of access to education. All these, among other things, are creating a social quagmire among our youths, thus making them easy prey. Government policies need to be underscored and guided by the acceptance that its citizens have a right to work, a right to food, a right to education, right to electricity. Only in this way will we be able to tackle the fundamental crisis of insecurity in our country."

Reuters reports that the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement, described the attack as "disgraceful" and said: "We condemn attempts by those in Nigeria who seek to inflame Christian-Muslim tension." She added: "We support those who recognize Nigeria's ethnic and religious diversity as one of the country's greatest strengths."